Ethiopia Creates Conducive Investment Climate to Attract Foreign Investors: Officials

Addis Ababa April 27/2023(ENA):-Ethiopia has been taking encouraging moves to create favorable investment climate with the objective of attracting foreign direct investment in various sectors, Ethiopian Investment Commission said.

The three-day 'Invest Ethiopia 2023’ international investment forum is underway in Addis Ababa under the theme "Invest and Grow in Ethiopia – The Land of Attractive Investment Opportunities."

The forum is being attended by more than 600 new foreign direct investors and expected to generate more than 3 billion USD in investments in Ethiopia over the next few years.

The Invest Ethiopia 2023 in its second-day morning session today has started by highlighting the growth perspective of Investment projects through attracting FDI and or through expanding existing projects with tailored incentive packages presented by the Deputy Commissioner of Ethiopian Investment Commission, Temesgen Tilahun. 

He said various reform activities are being underway in various sectors to improve ease of doing business and sustain the success of the past decades.

The commission has digitalized all services for investors, he said, adding that new growth potential such as agro processing, manufacturing, mining and energy, ICT as well as tourism sectors are the most lucrative areas in Ethiopia where investors can invest. 

The government is extensively working to expand infrastructural connectivity to enable investors to do business mentioning the Ethiopian Airlines, electric power infrastructures, railway and road among others.

He explained that all sectors are open for investors through various mechanisms including in Private Public Partnership (PPP), joint venture or other modalities and some 30 types of industrial parks across the country are good opportunities for the inventors.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Misganu Arga on his part said the ministry is working to provide authentic information for investors through Ethiopian missions abroad.

The investment opportunities in Ethiopia are immense; he said adding that due to our open up policy and economic growth, our missions are working to encourage foreign investors by conducting business forum.

The ambassador said there is a joint mechanism to assist investors to address the bottlenecks the investors might face.

He further explained that Ethiopia's accession to WTO is going well and Ethiopia has ratified the AfCFTA which is good opportunities for foreign investors too.

Ethiopian Electric Utility CEO on his part said his company is working on grid modernization and rehabilitation to expand distribution of power and provide reliable service for customers.

Critical government organizations are highlighting their mandate and responsibility with regards to availing conducive investment climate for investors, he added.

To capitalize on the past successes and correct the drawbacks, a dialogue with Ministers and investors is being held at the forum looking into the past journey of growth and future prospects right away.

According to the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Ethiopia has attracted more than 4.1 billion USD Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2021 and continued as the top FDI destination in East Africa.  The IMF has forecasted that Ethiopia will grow by 13 percent in 2023 and will be among the three fastest growing economies in Africa, the commission pointed out.

Ethiopia is the 3rd largest economy in sub Saharan Africa with a GDP of 156 billion USD.